Pupdate – February 21, 2014

Last weekend, Epic and I attended our very first conformation dog show. We have been preparing at home and in class for some time now and a local show provided the perfect opportunity to put our skills to the test.

Since it was Epic’s first show, and because I had some teaching commitments I decided that we would go to the Friday night sanction match, pop in for a quick visit before class on Saturday and enter one show each day Saturday and Sunday.

At the Sanction match on Friday, Epic had a very good time. she did tricks for hotdogs while we waited, she met a few new people and our time in the ring was fun for her.  Compared to our conformation handling classes, the ring was relatively empty so we had plenty of room. Epic gaited around the ring and then for the ‘down and back” without any of the sniffing she did at the last match and she nailed her free stack in front of the judge on the down and back. I felt much more relaxed than last time however the judge asked me to repeat the down and back going slower. I’m not 100% sure what this means but I’m guessing that the increased speed did not give her a clear picture of Epic’s gait.

On Saturday, we arrived in time to watch the Rottweiler class. There were seven dogs altogether, which is a great entry, last show in Brandon had only one Rottweiler entered. Most of the dogs entered were puppies about a month younger than Epic. All of the puppies were larger than she was and all of them were well prepared, since they are owned by seasoned breeders/owners/handlers.  While I watched the class, Epic had some down time in her crate. She fussed a bit as I left her but settled in nicely after that.

Sunday was our first show. I knew Epic was ready but was nervous all the same.  She showed as well as she did Saturday but the judge thought both other Female Puppies were nicer than the was that day so we left with a 3rd in class ribbon.

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Epic holding her stack ringside and paying attention. Too bad I am missing it!

I was slightly more nervous about the Monday show because our judge was a larger, taller man than I think she has seen. Epic on the other hand, thought he was just great! The judge’s ring procedure was a bit different this time and I felt like Epic got more of a look than she had on Saturday. This judge also asked me to repeat the down and back, so I really need to figure that out and/or take a valium before going into the ring! When all was said and done we got a second in class ribbon and a reserve winners female ribbon.

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Epic giving the judge her ‘hypno-stare’

Thinking back over the weekend, I am thrilled that Epic is a functional dog in a new , challenging and busy environment. She did not miss a beat and was able to do everything I asked of her without hesitation. Had I been in that environment with Bear, I am not certain I would have enjoyed myself as much. he requires much more management and vigilance and preparation before he can even think about performing.

I think we will try to attend a few more shows this spring. I don’t think she is as mature as the other dogs that will be in her class but I do think that gaining ring experience and exposure to new environments is a good thing.

On the Rally Front…

Epic and I have been taking advantage of the mini courses I have been setting for my Novice Rally Class and I am seeing some improvement in her ability to stay with me between stations. could it be that my baby girl is growing up? Below is a video from last Friday.

Pupdate is Back!

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When I last reported before Christmas, Epic was coming up to her 6 month “birthday”. Between a short holiday over Christmas and being incredibly busy at Prairie Dog Daycare, it was easy to let things slide.

Epic is just over 7 months old now and old enough to come to ‘big dog’ daycare. She comes to work with me 3 days a week and plays with a number of other dogs both larger and smaller than her. She is definitely what I call a ‘play chameleon’, meaning that she is able to adjust her play to the intensity and preferences of her playmates. That being said she is not a pushover and, if dogs are doing something she doesn’t care for, she uses appropriate cues to end their behaviour usually, she stops, stands still walks away and, if another dog is really pushy, will bark and snap at them.

Training-wise, we have not been focusing on anything specific. We have been working on pivots, individual rally exercises, heeling, hand stacking for conformation conformation gaiting and conformation stand for exam. Since the beginning of February we have been attending a pet dog class and a conformation handling class  to work on all of the above in a busy, noisy environment.

While outdoor adventures and exercise are pretty much impossible in this weather, we still go to the groomers, to the dog wash, to the vet weekly for weigh-ins and last month, she came with me to a rally judging assignment in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

Now that I have a better idea of who she is, I am beginning to set some goals which I’ll share in my next post.

Pupdate – Week 23

23 Weeks, 1 Day

I have gradually been introducing Epic to some different adult dogs from the ones I typically allow to meet puppies. I am doing this gradually because a negative experience can have long lasting effects. So far she’s handling things very well with new dogs: she’s greeting them appropriately, inviting them to play and using great calming signals when play gets too rough for her.

23 Weeks, 2 Days

Weight: 23.4kg ~ 51.5lb

Found the treat Jar in about 5 seconds!
Epic Supervising Dr. Barclay’s note taking.

Epic and I went to the vet to have her ears re-checked after an ear infection. All looked well so we went ahead and got her rabies vaccine. I have been delaying Rabies as long as possible. Her breeder would prefer a year but in order to attempt the CGN this winter, I need to get a municipal licence and in order to get a municipal licence, I need proof of vaccination against rabies. Go Figure.

23 Weeks, 4 Days

I thought I post an update on our left pivot progress. We have been working away on the stool and Epic can pivot 360 degrees with me so it’s time to up the ante a but by trying the pivot on a different, lower surface, and I have chosen the FitPAWS Balance Disc. The disc also happens to be a bit more of a workout for her, as she has to use all of those stabiliser muscles (front and rear) to stay on the disc while turning.

I am pleased with her progress so far. She is pivoting nicely and you can see she is beginning to move back into heel position as she pivots and then look at me as if to say “Well, I did it, cookie PLEASE!”.

I am going to keep up the disc work because I think it’s a great leg workout but over the next week I am going to start using one of my FitPAWS target in place of the disc. Up until now,  have been moving around the disc but since the target is completely flat, I can step on it too and begin to make my pivots more and more “in place”.

23 Weeks, 5 Days

Recently, while practicing our rally moves, Epic has been drifting away. It does not appear to me that she drifts to anything but she kind of “checks out”. I am choosing to take this as a sign that she is not feeling well, stressed by something or that the work is not rewarding enough for her. Instead of insisting that she work (or using corrections), I am going to take a different approach that will involve micro-training and some of the great games in Control Unleashed.

Getting a Handle on Housetraining Issues

For many dog owners, housetraining is the #1 thing we want our dogs to learn. In my experience it is also one of the most frustrating and emotionally charged training issues that dog owners struggle with, and I can relate.

Yes I’m a dog trainer and, yes, I’ve had house training issues…

When Epic came home with us, for the first few weeks, I was amazed at how well she did. She peed or pooped outside every time I took her out.  “Housetraining ain’t so hard”, I thought.

Then the “incidents” started happening.

  • Epic would pee in her crate at home or poop on the floor right after we brought her in. From outside. Where she peed or pooped 2 minutes earlier.
  • We would go the whole week without an incident and then have 2 or three on the same day.

Things finally came to a head for me while Sean was away, I was sick , and we had multiple incidents in a weekend, including one on the carpet. It might have been the sleep deprivation, it might have been the cold meds but I remember calmly letting my puppy into the yard coming inside and then breaking out in tears as I reached for the paper towel. Again.

puppy pee drama

Once I calmed down and let my puppy inside, I sat down with her in snuggled in my lap and thought about what I would tell someone in my place.

What everyone needs to know about housetraining

  1. Use an enzymatic cleaner to clean up pet messes. Dogs have a natural tendency to return urinate and defecate in the same place. You want to make sure that if there is an incident in your house that you remove all traces of it. Unfortunately, all the scented human products in the world will not hide the odour of a previous doggy indiscretion from your dog’s high powered nose. You need to use a pet specific enzymatic cleaner that breaks down organic stains and odours. I use the Odor Out products by EnviroFresh and Nature’s Miracle, both are available at pet supply stores or in the pet aisle of your local department store. Do not use other cleaners before using these products and make sure to follow the directions on the bottle.
  2. Rule out medical causes.  If your dog is suddenly peeing more frequently than she used to, if she appears to be straining a lot, or if she has frequent diarrhoea indoors, a trip to the vet may be warranted. A number of illnesses, infections and parasites may be compromising her ability to go when, and where, she should. If you have ever had a bad case of gastritis, or a urinary tract infection you know how urgent nature’s call can be when you are not feeling well. When you contact your vet, tell them about your house training issues and tell them you want to rule out any health related causes. The fact that you took your dog in for her annual exam last week does not mean she is healthy: Specific tests need to be run in order to diagnose certain illnesses and parasites.
  3. House Training 101. Assuming your dog is free and clear of infection and parasites. It’s time to implement some house training protocols. Whether your dog has never been housetrained or your dog is having a relapse, the approach is the same. Whether you want to teach your dog to go under the maple tree in your yard or in an indoor dog pats, the protocol is the same. I won’t  reiterate the great resources already out there on the internet, but if you need a housetraining refresher, investigate the following FREE resources:
  4. Seek Professional Help. If you you have given housetraining 101 (or the refresher course) an honest try and are not seeing improvement, now is the time to contact a canine professional. There is a possibility that the issues you are experiencing have a deeper behavioral cause. The two professional organisations that I recommend are the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) and the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC). Each organisation has a search function on their home page to help you find a professional near you.

No more crying over poop in our house!

In our case, the solution to our problem was relatively simple, but it required a level of commitment on my part to resolve.

I realised that Epic’s housetraining lapses were my fault: During the week, at work, it was is easy to keep Epic a regular potty schedule but once we got home, my internal clock is not set to “puppy time”. Once I actually started setting a timer on my phone to go off every 30 minutes (no joke!), and rewarding Epic with a cookie every time she went outdoors, incidents decreased to nothing.

What was a real pain the the rear for a week or two has paid off in spades. Epic still goes outside frequently (every hour or so) but in my books, getting off the couch for a minute or two is much less frustrating than having to clean the floors!

Pupdate – Week 22

22 Weeks

Today, I started teaching Epic the foundation of turning left by using our trusty stool. Turning left is one of a number of skills I think are important for rally dogs to have. The bonus is that pivoting on a raised surface is also a great way to strengthen a dog’s hindquarters and improve propriocetion. Finally, teaching her using shaping also gives her mind a bit of a workout.

Once she is moving left with me, I’ll probably add a hand signal and verbal cue (get in) before I try to transfer it to the flat!

21 Weeks, 1 Day

Weight: 21.6 kg / 47.6 lbs

Today, I started working on sit and down stays with Epic at home. First I started pivoting in front of her, then I started moving around her. Next I’ll start adding in some distance and then some distractions like toys and food.  A good stay is important for all the dog sports I’d like to do with her so I figure we’d better get started on that.

22 Weeks, 2 Days

Today, I was able to get out and do some tracking with Epic. She is really having fun but boy do I have a lot to learn. The latest video is below.

This is likely the last bit of tracking we will get in for the next few weeks. It’s going to be way, WAY too cold for us.

22 Weeks, 3 Days

Today, because the cold weather seems to give the dogs MORE energy, I took the dogs out for a long walk followed by a romp in the yard. Now that Epic is older, and taller,  we can go for longer walks and thanks to my handy hands-free leash, walking both of them is easy! Post-walk, both dogs were happy and covered with frost!

22 Weeks, 4 Days

Epic came to work with me today and we practiced our pivots and our sit/stay and down/stay. I am working on these things in both environments at the same time to help her generalise the behaviour.  She was able to stay while I walked around her (after a few tries) so I started walking away from her: sometimes coming back to reward her, sometimes calling her to me to reward her.

We finished off the session with some retrieving. She LOVES to retrieve a tennis ball and will bring it back to my hand about 70% of the time. 29% of the time, she will drop it near me. 1% of the time she can’t help herself and takes the ball on a “joy ride”. My approach has been to click/treat for balls deposited into my hand, to offer no click/treat for balls dropped near me and, to ignoring joyrides because I don’t want to encourage the oh-so-fun game of keep away! She is already much better at brining it to my hand then Bear is so I’m going to keep encouraging this and hope it can transfer to a dumbbell once we begin working on a more formal retrieve for obedience.

9 Skills to Teach your Novice Rally Dog

260549_10150212130698903_3270015_nAs a rally judge I have often observed that for some dog and handler teams, not having one skill can result in a number of point deductions and even disqualification.

For example, when a dog and handler team has trouble with left pivots, then they almost always have difficulty with left turns, about “U” turns, left circles and left finishes. When all of these exercises appear in the same course in a trial situation, this can result in a number of deductions because the dog lacks one technical skill – turning to the left.

Another example that comes to mind is the dog that is otherwise perfect but has crooked sits. I once unintentionally designed a CARO Novice Level (Which was approved) course that contained 15 sits! 15 crooked sits at 1-2 points each means that a team could lose 15-30 points. Depending on your dog, 15-30 points could be the difference between a qualifying score and a non-qualifying score. It could also be the different between a perfect score of 200 or a 180 because the dog lacks one important skill – Sit at Heel.

From a training perspective, I believe it is easier for our dogs if we teach our dogs the fundamental skills and before trying to attempt specific rally exercises.

Let’s think about that for a minute using left turns as an example. Your dog cannot read signs. He doesn’t know if you are going to turn 90 degrees, 180 degrees, 270 degrees or a full 360 degrees to the left. From his perspective you are just turning left and his job is to pivot on his front feet and tuck his rear to the right until you move forward. You only need to teach him a 360 pivot to the left, and you only really need to use one cue for all of the left turning exercises.

Now that I’ve got you thinking about rally in terms of skills instead of exercises, I know you are dying to know which skills your dog needs to learn. At the novice level in CARO, I break the 29 exercises into things down into 9 technical skills (with variations). 9 is easier than 29, don’t you think?

9 Skills for the Novice Rally Dog

  1. Heeling (Slow/Normal/Fast)
  2. Sit (Heel/Front)
  3. Stand (Heel)
  4. Down(Heel)
  5. Turn left
  6. Turn right
  7. Right finish (Go around)
  8. Left Finish (Swing)
  9. Stay (Sit/Down)

The good news is, most of these skills can be learned and perfected at home, in your living room. Once your dog understands the technical skills, and you can perform the exercises, your next step is to teach your dog the skills she will need to perform a full course, in public, at a trial or fun match with randomised rewards!

Pupdate – Week 21

21 Weeks, 1 Day

Weight: 21.2 kg / 46.7lbs

I took Epic to the vet this morning to have her ears looked at they have become gradually dirtier and itchier over the past week and I suspected an ear infection. Dr. Radcliffe took one look at her ears and said, yup it was an ear infection. We got a weeks worth of ear drops which will hopefully clear things up. We’ll go back for a recheck in a week or so to make sure the infection is gone. For good.

21 Weeks, 2 Days

It has been brutally cold here for a few days (-20’s . . CELCIUS!) and I have been thinking that Epic needs a coat because she has almost no undercoat. Luckily, Epic’s auntie Renee had a lovely coat just Epic’s size hanging around and it fit her perfectly!

21 Weeks, 3 Days

Today it was warm enough to go out tracking! After tracking disaster last week, tone he tracking groups that I have joined gave me some great ideas for out next track. Today, I took both Bear and Epic out.  Epic’s track was on the whole, successful. She found most of the bait, most of the footsteps and made her way to the jackpot at the end of the track.

21 Weeks, 4 Days

One of the things I worked on today with Epic is heel position and sit @ heel. As we always do, we worked in 1-5 minute sessions after each potty break but now we have a game of tug/retrieving when we are done. I haven’t been taking a singular approach to teaching this: I have been using a combination of targeting, luring and shaping to teach her that 1.) it pays to be on my left side 2.) It pays to sit in heel position at my left side and 3.) It pays to come back to heel position if she finds her self out of position.

By the end of the day she is sitting more or less straight beside me (not swinging her rear out) and she is catching her self when she gets ahead of me. Her natural tendency is to get out ahead of me (we call this forging in rally/obedience) which is an issue I can fix with time and appropriate reward placement.

21 Weeks, 5 Days

It has been rather cold lately which means less time outside for all of us so I decided to play some fetch indoors with Epic this afternoon. Sometimes she is not ready to give up a toy but is more willing if I have two toys. Today I switched it up and started clicking when she brought the ball back to my hand and offering a tasty morsel of food right away. Once she got that part down I started throwing the ball and then running away to hide from her so she had to come find me and bring the ball for a cookie and another ball throw. I call this Hide & Seek Retrieving and it’s *so* much fun!

Epic and I had class this evening! Tonight we got to work on walking nicely on leash stays and sitting/standing while strangers approach. We used our walking time to practice heeling with distractions. Epic was much less distracted than she was 2 weeks ago but about 30 minutes into the class she got very sniffy and started hunting for invisible cookies. I treated this as a sign she was mentally “done” and we went back to our mats for some chill out and settle time. After that she seemed much more focused and on task. This is going to be a very important thing for me to remember.

During the ‘sit nicely for an approaching stranger’ Epic sat while the stranger approached and spoke to me but our handshake was just too much she *had* to jump up and see what was in our hands!  We tried again a few times and I was finally able to click and reward her for staying still. This is the very beginning of greeting a stranger in the CGN, and the stand for exam in Rally/Obedience. We also tried having her stand standing while a stranger approached to go over her which is what will happen in the conformation ring her natural inclination is to visit people so I will be working on teaching her that her people will come to her if she can Just. Stand. Still.

21 Weeks, 6 Days

Epic is 5 months old today and has been with us for 3 months.

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Pupdate – Week 20

20 Weeks

This evening, Epic and I went to our very first conformation fun match together. I was very nervous about the whole thing. I wasn’t worried about how we would do and more worried about the judgy-ness of the people around us. As we waited our turn it occurred to me that my nervousness was a result of not really understanding the game or more to the point, not knowing how to “win”. In dog sports like rally, agility and even flyball, there are very clear criteria for qualifying. You know exactly what you need to do and if you do those things, and a judge sees it, you pass.  There is subjectivity in dog sports (that’s why we have judges) but performance evaluation is mostly objective.

In conformation, even if a dog is well presented (stacks nicely, shows teeth without a fuss, gaits nicely) whether you “win” or not is totally dependent on 1.) how the other dogs in the ring look compared to yours and 2.) the judge’s opinion of your dog’s structure and movement. as it relates to the breed standard. A person can train all they want and have a perfectly presented dog but if the judge doesn’t like what they see (or if they like another dog in the ring better), there’s nothing you can change in that moment to “win. Nothing.

In short, I have very little control over the outcome in Conformation and that makes me nervous.

Epic did very well. I kept her busy during the long wait, she showed her teeth with limited fuss and she did the gaiting, albeit with her nose stuck to the mats. I used food to lure her nose up and knew that there was really no way that the judge was getting a good view of Epic’s movement. I did not get the impression is was avoidance sniffing, so much as just being overwhelmed and distracted with the smells present. Over the next few weeks we are going to work on gaiting more and on ignoring distractions – both of which are easy enough to teach, I just have to do it.

20 Weeks, 1 Day

Weight: 20.5kg ~45lbs

I had the day off today so Epic came into town for a weigh-in with me and then hung out in the car while I ran errands. Since she came home, Epic has been gaining weight slowly and steadily, which is what I want to see.

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20 Weeks, 2 Days

Bear is entered in an agility this weekend so Epic gets to come with us “for the ride”. She has her own crate set up plenty of chew toys to keep her busy.

My goal for the day was for Epic to settle in her (covered) crate and for her to get used to the routine of dog shows which is (crate, wait, pee, wait, work – repeat!). She did very well with a little whining but no cranky barky fits even with some rather vocal dogs around us.  She peed and pooped in a strange place which may not sound like a big deal but many dogs hold it until they explode in new environments and that can’t be comfortable or healthy! since she is not “working” in the trial, her work consisted of walking around the environment, paying attention to me for cookies, playing tug and sitting nicely for cookies from others.

20 Weeks, 3 Days

Today was another fun day at the agility trial. We did all the same things we did yesterday but today we ran up and down the halls (conformation gaiting practice) and Epic got to climb the bleachers and watch some of the action.

20 Weeks, 5 Days

Today was not the best of days.

This morning I ran into a Deer on the way to work. Epic was in the car with me and fortunately she was safe in her crate. Arranging insurance details took up most of my free time during the day so Epic did not get much of my attention or any training today at work.

Later this evening while doing my nightly go-over, I noticed one of her ears is more than a little pink, the ear cleaner did I used earlier this week does not seem to be helping so I have booked a vet appointment for later in the week. I suspect she has an ear infection.

20 Weeks, 6 Days

Today, I was very brave. I left Epic at home while I went to work. This wasn’t completely my plan however the rental company was very specific about no dogs in the car so I need to be particularly careful about having either dog in there.

It’s also high time we did this.

She did not have to stay home by herself (Bear was home too) and she did get out during the day (Sean comes home at lunch) but it was kind of hard to leave her and my day was rather quiet without her.

Sean reported that she was incredibly happy to see him, but clean and dry when he came home at lunch and after work. I had to teach a rally class tonight so it was 7:30 pm when I arrived at home. Sean had company over so he had them outdoors running around in the snow earlier and now both dogs were resting quietly in their crates, and a tad nonchalant about my return.

I don’t think I need to worry about leaving Epic home in her crate anymore.

Pupdate – Week 19

19 Weeks, 1 Day

This morning Epic went for a spa day while I headed across the border to pick up some items for work. She got a bath, and this time even a blow dry and full dremel grinding job on her toes. She did not settle well while waiting her turn and I wonder if it has something to do with teething or maybe being in an open crate. when I have her crated at work, she is always out of sight of whatever is going on.

By the time I returned from my trip it was snowing big, fat, wet, snowflakes and I got to take Epic out for her first play in the snow! She did more eating of snow than playing but she had fun!

19 Weeks, 2 Days

Today we went to our conformation class. She is stacking much better than before however she was incredibly distracted by all the food on the floor. This is something we are going to have to learn to cope with.

19 Weeks, 4 Days

Today is Remembrance Day which means Sean has a parade/ceremony to go to and I will go with him. We left Epic in her crate while we were out, about 4.5 hours. She was clean, dry and happy to see us when we got back. Soon she should be able to stay home some days (Sean comes home at lunch) instead of coming with me to work. This is something that many puppies learn very early but my work schedule and Sean being away for a time have delayed things for us a bit.

19 Weeks, 5 Days

This evening we went to puppy class. There were only 4 other puppies there so we got to do a lot more moving around and practice with loose-leash walking. Epic was more distracted by the other dogs, the food and the people than she has been before. Towards the end of the class, she was also a bit over amped by it as she began to grab for the treats with her teeth, which she almost never does. I decided to take a break on our settle mat away from the other dogs and then we tried some walking in a different room where she was able to take cookies nicely again. With Bear, this ‘sharking’ is a low level sign that he is worried by or over aroused by something. I’m not sure exactly what the issue is with Epic (dogs? people? moving? end of a long day?) but I’m going to start really paying attention to when it happens.

19 Weeks, 5 Days

Today, while playing with Bear, Epic stopped, came to me and spit a puppy tooth at my feet. The tooth is a premolar so I had a look in her mouth and the gums around her premolars and canines are bright red. It makes me wonder if her being distracted and ‘sharky’ this week might have had something to do with teething.

Pupdate – Week 18

18 Weeks

Since today is Halloween, I took a few photos of Epic..and her pumpkin.

This evening was also my last class in Portage La Prairie so I decided to bring both dogs with me since I wasn’t sure what Sean had planned and to avoid the barking etc that tends to go on when folks ring our doorbell – even though our house always looks abandoned on Halloween.

I don’t typically dress Bear up, it’s hard to find “big dog” costumes but I did find this tiara for Epic. Pretending to be a princess isn’t much of a stretch for her!

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18 Weeks, 2 Days

Weight: 19.2lbs ~ 42lbs

Today, Epic and I celebrate a very important milestone. it’s been two whole weeks without any housetraining relapses. We started off with housetraining really well, and when Sean went away, and then I was sick for a week, it went to, well, crap. I got back on top of things and it’s been two weeks (and counting) since I’ve had to haul out the mop or paper towel at home, or at work.

This afternoon was our second Conformation class. Today I used roast beef as food rewards – and boy did it ever. Today we had two new people examine Epic, a woman and a man who are in the class. The woman did not seem to bother her but she was a bit worried about showing her teeth to the man until I let her face him straight on before showing her bite. She was less interested in the other dogs today, even the ones we did not see last class and she completely ignored the squeaky toys others were using to get their dog’s attention.

The two things we need to work on for next week are me being able to move away from her while she is in the free stack and teaching her to hold a stacked position and wait for her food to be delivered instead of diving for it – which doesn’t make for a very flattering picture.

18 Weeks 3 Days

Today I did not have dogs at work but I did have to go in to do a few things. Since today is one of the days we have a groomer come to the daycare and she brought one of her dogs. Epic got to play (meaning follow around) with a 10yo pointer boy, Cowboy who is just Great with puppies! While I was there a local Rottweiler breeder/exhibitor came in to have his dog’s toenails filed so I brought Epic out to see him.

He took a real hard look at her conformation and told me what he liked about her and what he saw as problematic. Overall she thought she was a nice dog and that her current ‘problem areas’ might improve once she is more physically mature. I didn’t ask for his opinion but I got it and, I see the same things he does and I feel the same way – things will change as she natures – and if they don’t, there is life after Conformation for us!

18 Weeks, 4 Days

Today Epic and I worked a bit on shaping with some FitPAWS equipment. check out the video below. I swear, you can practically HEAR her think!

18 Weeks, 5 Days

Today, I decided to start working on heel position with Epic. I have been holding off on it for some time now because I wasn’t sure how I would approach it. To be honest, I can’t even remember how I taught Bear to heel and in our beginning rally classes we basically shape heeling and lure/reward sit at heel. With Epic, I want to approach things in more of a structured way because I want good position, rhythm and attitude. I also want to shape this behaviour because I want it to be one of her strongest behaviours, I want her to ‘own’ it. So, today, after some inspiration from this YouTube video, I decided to start clicking/rewarding epic every time she moved to my left side. If I was the centre of the clock, I was clicking  any position from 6 o’clock to 12 0clock and rewarding at my left side. If she appeared to get “stuck”, I waited for her to offer movement to the left and then rewarded by tossing a cookie behind her to ‘reset’. In one session she caught on very quickly to the fact that staying on my left side was earning her cookies, now I just need to narrow down the “window” to the few square inches beside me.